Tips for making good online order forms

Have you ordered anything online recently? Most likely, the answer is yes, as a large number of consumers do the majority of their shopping online today. Since we are in the online technological age, the online shopping trend is expected to continue to rise, therefore, if your business has any online forms, you need to get them right.

Your online forms can make or break your business, based on their design. Once your consumers are motivated to fill out the form or purchase your product/service, your form must make it as easy as possible for them to complete the necessary actions. Here are some tips to keep in mind when designing your next online form:

Keep It Simple – you do not want a complicated online form for your consumer to fill out. They will get frustrated with so many details and will typically stop and move to another website that has a similar product or service with easier forms. Be sure that you allow plenty of space for your consumer to fill in their information, while keeping the layout clean and simple. If required, use an HTML Form generator for building better forms

Make It Easy – while you want to gain as much information as possible on your form, you should only ask for vital pieces of information. Making it clear and easy for the consumer will help alleviate wrong information and missing information. Keep the validations to the minimum. Use this form validation best practices guide as a reference. Be clear on what you expect for data on each field, by providing samples. This takes the guess work out of the equation and the consumer will know exactly what you expect.

Ask Better Questions – many businesses ask the wrong questions on their online forms. Do you really need to ask for a phone number if they are only registering for a newsletter? Do not ask for personal information that does not pertain to the product or service. Keep your questions specific to the immediate task of the form, cut those questions that are not necessary to carry out the action, postpone any questions that can be gathered later in the process, and be sure to explain any difficult questions that you need an answer to.

Error Message and Help Text – every single online form needs to have several components that benefit the user. You must have error messages set up if something is not completed properly on the form. In addition, you should have meaningful text that is helpful in completing all areas of the form or when there is a question. You should also include a submission message, once the form has been submitted successfully.

As you can see, your online form is an important part of your website, business and marketing strategy. Neglecting to design it properly can mean loss of business and declining revenue for your business. Take the time to review your online forms today and make any necessary changes.